Balancing mechanism for fluid storage apparatus of the vertically movable type



Feb. 6, 1951 J. W. ALLEN BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLUID STORAGE APPARATUS OF THE VERTICALLY MOVABLE TYPE Original Filed Jan. 6, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: JOHN W. ALLEN /r ATTORNEY.

Feb. 6, 1951 J. w. ALLEN 2,540,773

BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLUID STORAGE APPARATUS OF THE VERTICALLY MOVABLE TYPE Original Filed Jan. 6, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: JOHN ALLEN ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 6, 1951 2,540,773 BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLUID S TOR,

AGE APPARATUS MOVABLE TYPE 69F THE VERTICALLY John Allen, Chicago, 111., assignor to John H. Wiggins, Chicago, Ill.

Original application Jan 720,405. Divided and 1948,. Serial No. 28,719

This application is. a division of my pending application; Serial No... 720,405, filed. January 6, 1947..

The object of my present invention is to. provide .abalancing, leveling or stabilizing mechanism. for gas holders. and other fluid storage apparatus .of. the vertically-movable roof type, that comprises the desirable. characteristics and: features ofi. the balancing mechanism forming the subject-matter of my above mentioned pending application. for patent, but-which is equipped with a system. of levers for maintaining in a taut condition the cable. that leads upwardly from. the counterweight, and thence extends across the topside. of the vertically-movable roof of the apparatus.

I hayeherein illustrated. my present invention embodied; ina balancing, leveling, or stabilizing mechanism, which; is of such construction that if thematically-movableroof or. equivalent part of the apparatus moves, or tends to move, out of alevel or horizontalposition, said roof is brought back. to its. normal, level position by an upward pull: exerted byone of the cables on the low side of the peripheral portion of the roof, but I Wish it tobe understood that my invention contemplates arranging the cables and weight in such a way that if the roof moves, or tends to move, out of a level or horizontal position, such movementor incipientumovement, is counteracted by downward: pull. exerted by one of the cables on the high side of the roof, 1. e;,. on that part of the. peripheral portion of the roof. which has moved, or tended to move; upwardly relativelyto the other parts of the peripheral portion of the roof; As; herein; used, the: term cables is intended'to include. chains'ol any other kind of flexible elements employed to transmit; or assist in transmitting; movement from the weight to the roof, therterm. sheaves is intended to include .3

pulleys, wheels, and other kinds of devices used to guide the: cables that" cause the load of the weight to resist movement of. the roof tending to throw the roof out of balance, and the term rooitig: intended: to mean and. include any kind of've1tical 1y'-movable=structure which has: a tendency to. tip or tilt out of a level position, my improved stabilizing, leveling, or balancing mechanism beingcapable ofuse with any kind of. fluid storage apparatus equipped with a verticallymovable bell or equiyalent part that rises and falls during the normal use of the apparatus.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention applied to a gas holder provided. with a lifterroot-"and; with a dry seal that maintains uary' 6,. 1947., Serial :No.

this. application May 22,:

a gas-tight: joint between the lifter roof and the side. wall of the tank which constitutes the lower portion of the gas holder.

Figure 1 of the drawings isa vertical transverse sectional view of a fluid storage apparatus equipped with a balancing: mechanism constructed in accordance. with my present invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure illustrated in Figure 1 and shows how the vertically-movable roof of the storage space is balanced in four directions by two pairs of cables attached at four different points on the peripheral portion of the roof, separated from each other by angles of 90", each pair of cables cooperating with a separate Weight.

Figure 3' is a top plan view, showing how the roof can be balanced in three different directions by a weight and three cables attached at three symmetrically-arranged points on the peripheral portion of the roof; and

Figure. 4 is a View in side elevation oi the system of levers whichholds in a taut-condition, the cable that leads upwardly from the counterweight andthenextends across the top side of the vertically-movablerooi of the apparatus.

In. the accompanying drawings C designates the sidewall of. the tank. or stationary lower portion of a fluid storage apparatus, D designates the bottom of. said tank, B designate a. lifter roof or vertically-movable. roof. that vforms. the top wall of the storage space of the apparatus, A designates. a depending skirt portion on the roof arranged in telescopic relation with theside: wall of the tank, E designates a conventional dry seal attached to the. tank side wall C and to the skirt portion A of the roof, so as to maintain a gas-tight joint between said parts andstill permit the roof to-rise and fallgand thus'vary the volume of the storage space, and F designates rafters attached to the tank side wall and to a center post G, soas to support the roof when it i in its lowermost position.

Myimproved balancing, leveling, or stabilizing mechanism comprises a vertically-movable weight W arranged on the. exterior of the tank eral portion of the roof to to the weight W at the same point as projecting :flexible element 53. 'hand end of lever 54 is joined by a pivot 51 to a .:by prime marks or the other of the cables Q or R. The cable Q, which is attached at its lower end to the weight W, leads upwardly from the weight over a sheave I carried by a laterally-projecting bracket 2 on the side wall of the tank, and thence downwardly from said sheave l to a point H on the periphwhich the other end of said cable Q is attached. The particular level of the sheave l relatively to the top edge of the tank side wall, and the particular level of the cable attaching point ll relatively to the top portion of the roof, is immaterial, so long as the vertical height or distance between said sheave l and cable-attaching point H is approximately equal to the'designed rise of the roof. If the sheave l is located at a level considerably lower than the top edge of the tank side wall, as inthe apparatus herein illustrated, it is necessary that the cable Q be attached to the peripheral portion of the roof at a distance below the sheave l, equal to the designed rise of the roof, this effect being obtained by providing the skirt A of the roof with a vertically-disposed post 3 that forms a rigid extension at the lower end of the skirt to which the cable Q can be attached at a point H, which is the required distance below the sheave l on the tank side wall. The cable R is attached the cable Q and leads upwardly from said weight over a sheave 4 mounted on the left hand side of the roof B preferably on the upper end portion of the post 3. Said cable R thence passes transversely across the top side of the roof to a sheave 5 located at the right hand side of the roof and mounted preferably on the upper end portion of a vertically-disposed post 6 which is attached to the exterior of the right hand side of the roof skirt A. After passing over the top side of the sheave 5, a run or portion of the cable R, designated, for convenience, by the reference character R leads downwardly from the sheave 5 and is connected by means of a system of levers to a, point on the roof skirt A, designated by the reference character 5| and located in remote relationship with the point H at which the cable Q is attached to said skirt. During the rise and fall of the roof, said system of levers holds the cable R in a taut condition.

The system of levers just referred to is herein illustrated as comprising a lever 50 that is rockably mounted on the skirt A of the roof, and a lever 54 that is rockably mounted on the side wall of the tank. As shown in Figure 4, the pivot 5| of the lever 55 constitutes, in effect, the point at which the cable R is connected with the right hand side of the roof. Said pivot or cable-attaching point is carried by a post 52 fastened to the skirt of the roof and projecting downwardly below the bottom edge of said skirt, and the pivot or axis 55 of the lever 54 is carried by a laterallybracket 56 on the side wall of the tank. The vertical run R of the cable R is attached to the left hand end of the lever 50, and the right hand end of said lever is connected with the right hand end of the lever 54 by a cable or equivalent The opposite end or left post 58 carried by and projecting downwardly from the bottom edge ofthe skirt A of the roof.

When the internal pressure of the storage space of the apparatus increases, the roof B and the co-acting parts of the stabilizing mechanism assurne the positions indicated by broken lines and on the previously mentioned reference characters, as shown in Figure 1. Duris ing such movement of the roof the cable R moves bodily upwardly with the roof, because the horizontal run of said cable extends over the top side of the roof and is supported by sheaves 4 and 5 mounted on the roof. 7

In a stabilizing or balancing mechanism of the construction above described the tables R and Q exert an upward pull on the roof skirt A at opposite ends of the diameter of the roof. In order that the upward lift will be equal on the two points I l and 5 l, at which said cables are attached to the peripheral portion of the roof, the net up-: lift on the cable-attaching points must be the same, and therefore, equal W/ 2. 7

Assuming that the roof moves upwardly a distance K, as shown in Figure 1, the weight W moves downwardly a distance K and the two cable-attaching points i l and 5| at the left hand and right hand sides, respectively, of the roof move upwardly a corresponding distance K. During such movement of the roof, a point N on the vertical run of the cable R at the left hand side of the roof moves downwardly relatively to the ground or relatively to the tank tance K, as shown in Figure '1. However, the vertical run or portion R of the cable R at the right hand side of the roof moves upwardly a considerably greater distance, due to the fact that the right hand end of the cable R is connected with the roof by the previously described system of levers which comprises one leve 50 rcckably mounted on the skirt A of the roof, a second lever 54 rockably mounted on the tank side wall, a flexible connection 53 between the right hand ends of said lever, and a pivotal connection 5? between the left hand end of lever 54 and the depending post 58 on the roof skirt. Thus, when the roof moves upwardly a distance K, the pivot 5| of lever 50 will move upwardly a distance K, as indicated in Figure 4, with the result that the upward movement of the roof, plus the pull the weight W exerts on the cable R, will cause the vertical run R of said cable at the right hand side of the roof to move upwardly a distance 3K, as shown in Figure 4. The flexible element 55, which joins the right hand ends of the levers 5i) and 54 together, will move downwardly only one-third of the upward movement of the left hand end of lever 50 to which the vertical run R of cable R is attached. Similarly,

the pivotal connection 51 between the left hand end of lever 54 and the depending post 58 on the roof skirt will also move upwardly only one-third the weight W, one-half of it being applied at the left hand cable-attaching point, and the other half being applied at the right hand cable-attaching point 5!. Consequently, the weight W not only balances the roof against external loads, but said weight also acts as a counterweight to lift the roof, which is very desirable in order to reduce the operating pressure of the roof as it rises and falls.

Preferably, an additional pair of cables, a weight, and cc-acting guiding and supporting sheaves are used in conjunction with theweight W and cables Q and R shown in Figure 1, to balance the roof in all directions, said additional pair side wall a disof cables being arranged at right angles to the cables Q and R, shown in Figure 1. In Figure 2, the reference character W/l designates the weight that co-acts with said additional pair of cables, the reference character R designates the cable that extends transversely across the top side of the roof, the reference character 4X designates the sheave on the roof in vertical alignment with the weight W/ l 0, and the reference character X designates the sheave at the far side or opposite side of the roof.

Instead of using two systems arranged at right angles to each other, as described in the preceding paragraph, three or more systems may be used at substantially equal spaces around the tank. Figure 3 illustrates a mechanism compris ing a single weight W connected to the left hand side of the roof by a single cable corresponding to the cable Q, shown in Figure 1, and connected by two cables R with symmetrically spaced points on the peripheral portion of the roof, each of said cables R comprising a horizontal run that travels over sheaves 4 and 5 of the roof, and a plurality of vertical runs each of which is connected with the roof skirt by a system of levers of the construction and arrangement previously described and shown in Figure 4.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The particular level of the sheave I relatively to the top edge of the tank side wall, and the particular level of the cable attaching point II relatively to the top portion of the roof, is immaterial, so long as the vertical height or distance between said sheave l and cable-attaching point II is approximately equal to the designed rise of the roof. If the sheave l is located at a level considerably lower than the top edge of the tank side wall, as in the apparatus herein illustrated, it is necessary that the cable Q be attached to the peripheral portion of the roof at a distance below the sheave l, equal to the designed rise of the roof, this effect being obtained by providing the skirt A of the roof with a vertically-disposed post 3 that forms a rigid extension at the lower end of the skirt to which the cable Q can be attached at a point II, which is the required distance below the sheave l on the tank side wall.

1. A balancing mechanism for a verticallymovable roof provided with a depending skirt arranged in telescoped relationship, with the side wall of a stationary tank, comprising a verticallymovable weight arranged at one side of the tank, a cable leading from said weight over a guide on the tank side wall and attached to the skirt at a distance below said guide equal to the designed rise of the roof, a second cable leading upwardly from said weight, thence over supporting guides mounted on the top side of the roof and thereafter downwardly from the roof to a point of attachment in remote relationship with the point of attachment of the first mentioned cable to the skirt and a plurality of rock levers that coact with said second cable to normally hold the same in a. taut condition during the rise and fall of the roof, one of said rock levers being carried by the roof skirt and one of said levers being carried by the tank side wall.

2. A mechanism of the kind described in claim 1, in which said rock levers are joined together at one end by a means that causes said levers to rock simultaneously.

3. A mechanism of the kind described in claim 1, in which the rock lever carried by the skirt has one of its ends attached to said second cable and has its opposite end connected by a flexible element to one end of the rock lever carried by the tank side wall.

4. A mechanism of the kind described in claim 1, in which said second cable and rock levers are combined and arranged as follows, to wit: (a) the lever carried by the skirt has one of its ends attached to said second cable and has its opposite end connected by a flexible element to one end of the lever carried by the tank side wall; and (b) the lever carried by the tank side wall hastits other end pivotally attached with the skir JOHN W. ALLEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

